Alexandria of Alexandria
by SwirlStar
Summary: An ancient civilization. An adventurous family. A long-lost twin. Alex discovers a secret that will change his life forever.
1. Default Chapter

This is my second fic and my first Mummy one, so it won't be that great, but please read and review anyway! Also, in the first paragraph it says "raven-haired near-identical" so just assume that Alexandria is identical to Alex except for the black hair.  
  
CHAPTER ONE: Destined  
  
No one had ever told Evelyn or Rick O'Connell that their son had had a twin. During the actual birth in a hospital in London, Evie was anesthetized and Rick was trying to prevent his brother-in-law Jonathon from committing any foreseeable crimes. The only people who had witnessed the birth of the raven-haired near-identical, an adorable little girl, were a doctor and his assistant.  
  
By the time Evie awoke and Rick had dragged Jon away from the coin slot on the pay phone, only young Alexander O'Connell remained. The girl was no where in sight and all records of any twin were erased. The happy couple oohed and ahhed over their baby, whilst a truck drove off from the hospital parking lot below. In it was the brother of a certain scrawny little man who received his comeuppance-and the little O'Connell who would eventually be known as Alexandria. They sped towards a land of mysteries and destinies, and a city of the dead.  
  
Egypt. Or, more specifically, Hamunaptra, Egypt. What remained of it anyway.  
  
In the meantime, years past. Alex grew more and more curious about the twangs of something almost like ESP racing through his head, but he dared not voice his concern aloud. Even in a family that believed in curses (with good reason), something unknown like this was never a good sign. Still, even after all the excitement surrounding his seventh year, he could not understand this.  
  
As both twins grew in separate locations from curious children to irritable preteens to gawky teenagers, one raised by a reincarnated princess and her husband and one raised by the reincarnated princess's centuries-old rival, destiny approached at a rapid rate. Whatever adventures or battles had raged in each's life, whatever hardships had prepared them for life's difficulties, could not have prepared them for this. This was their fate. This was their future. And it was coming on to them with great speed.  
  
But first, Alex had to finish his chores. 


	2. Answered

Hope you all liked the first chapter. The end was a bit abrupt though. We'll get back to Alex later; for now we're going to Alexandria's life for a chapter.  
  
CHPATER TWO: Answered  
  
Many thousands of miles away from where Alex O'Connell was doing chores/begging his parents to let him travel to Egypt alone, Alexandria was cleaning up the small living room which was part of an apartment salvaged from a tomb and moved aboveground. Her adoptive mother Meela barked at her to hurry up from the other room. Len Gabor, her mother's current boyfriend, was coming to visit, and everything had to be just so.  
  
Sighing, the fifteen-year-old leaned on the broom she was sweeping the floor with and wiped her forehead. She would have complained if this hadn't always been her life. She knew nothing else but these two dusty rooms, the ever-snapping Meela and the sneaky Len. For a while, about eight years ago, both Meela and her boyfriend at that time, Imhotep, a strange man with a mystical demeanor and a shaved head, had disappeared for a time. Only Meela had returned.  
  
But when they were gone, Alexandria (named for a random Egyptian city) had felt strange, somewhat indescribable twinges in her mind. It reminded her of something that she had forgotten and couldn't remember, like the schedule of what she was supposed to clean for that day-only even more pressing. These twinges had brought different emotions at different times, mainly fear and, at one point, suffocating grief during Meela's absence. Now when she got these vibes, they brought random feelings such as excitement or disappointment.  
  
These oddities were the only solace in her dull life. There was a life, a destiny, for her out there, out away from this all. She knew it. This hadn't always been her life-Meela had let it slip a few years ago that she was adopted; from whom and where Alexandria could only guess. She knew that she wasn't Egyptian-she looked like she was English or American. But with all of Meela's diverse boyfriends coming and going, it was hard to find out what her original accent was. Meela had never, and probably would never, tell her of her true nationality.  
  
A knocking on the weak wooden door brought her out of her reveries. There was no need to check who it was first-there was only one person it could be. She opened the entrance and, sure enough, the scrawny Len stood there with his freaky grin.  
  
"Hey, Alexandria," he greeted. "How's things?"  
  
"Same old, same old," she sighed, stepping aside to let him in. "Don't tell Meela I said that."  
  
Len smiled. He did look freaky, and he was sneaky and rude sometimes, but Alexandria often found him to be the only person she could confide in. "Another one of those clean-all-this-junk-up days?" he asked, gesturing to the clean room.  
  
"Of course. Anyway, Meela's moping in her room."  
  
Grimacing, the boyfriend took off his coat, laid it on the couch, and headed into the storm that was sure to be one of Meela's temper tantrums. Alexandria laid down her broom as the first sounds of fighting emaciated from the next room, taking the feather duster and cleaning off the ever- messy bookshelves near the front door.  
  
Grabbing a chair to give herself a boost up to the tallest shelf, she dusted off the books and plants that stood there. Moving a potted cactus to dust underneath, she saw something glossy fall to the floor.  
  
"Hmm." she muttered, hopping down from the chair and picking the object up. It was like nothing she had ever seen before: a shiny picture of actual people, only it wasn't a painting. Hadn't she heard of these things? A phot- -photo-photograph. Yes, that was it, a photograph.  
  
In the picture, there were three people smiling happily. A handsome young man, a beautiful woman, and-Alexandria's throat tightened-a small boy who looked exactly like she had when she was younger, only with blond hair. The two others also looked like she could be . . . related. Related to . . . them.  
  
When one grew up with someone as skeptical as Meela, one didn't believe in fairy tales. Yet as Alexandria gazed upon the family, she thought that the answer to all her wishes might come true.  
  
Quickly listening at the door to the other room to make sure Meela and Len would be occupied for quite a while, Alexandria grabbed a coat (unnecessary in Egypt, but where she might travel it could be colder) and her few belongings, including the photograph. She left posthaste. The teenager had no idea where she was headed, but it had to be better than where she was.  
  
It had to be. 


	3. Bargaining

Thanks for all the good reviews! Also: I know that when Alex was fifteen it would be during World War II and he couldn't be flying around everywhere, but just pretend it's an alternate universe or whatever you want. Here's Chapter Three.  
  
CHAPTER THREE: Bargaining  
  
"But Mum, Dad, I'll be responsible! I won't crash into anything . . . please?" Alex O'Connell pouted as he begged his parents to let him take flying lessons.  
  
"Absolutely not," glared Evelyn. "Your father nearly died in a plane. And may I remind you that you came pretty close to dying yourself eight years ago, Mister Tries-On-Every-Ancient-Cursed-Bracelet-In-Sight. Two near-death incidents in the family are enough."  
  
"Three," corrected Rick, turning away from the scroll he was looking at and smiling.  
  
"Yes, thank you," she huffed. "Three. Anyway, you see my point."  
  
"What was Dad doing in a plane?" inquired Alex, swinging on the door to his parents' study.  
  
Evie was about to respond with a that's-besides-the-point response when Rick cut in.  
  
"Saving your mother," he replied.  
  
"SEE?" shouted Alex. "It's a useful life skill."  
  
"Your father was an adult."  
  
Rick let go of the scroll and let it roll up. "Evie, darling . . . "  
  
"No!" insisted his wife. "He's only fifteen."  
  
"Exactly. I was only twenty-one. What's that, a six-year difference? The times are changing, Ev. Kids are growing up faster, and we have to acknowledge that whatever we say, he still considers himself an adult."  
  
Evie smiled. "He's not going on a date, you know. This is even more dangerous."  
  
"Yes, but . . . please?" Both O'Connell men pouted adorably.  
  
Laughing, she relented. "All right, I suppose he can take a few lessons. But there are a few conditions -"  
  
Alex was cheering and out of the room before Evie could finish her sentence.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Alex bounced up and down in the back of the car as the family headed to the hangar where the brother of their late friend Winston would teach him this "useful life skill." Evie was worried and purposely made several wrong turns in the hope that the young adventurer would be discouraged, but to no avail. When they finally arrived, Alex's hyperness was as present as ever.  
  
Wilbert, Winston's brother, approached their car as the family got out. "Hello, O'Connells. Pleased to meet you. Now which one was the cause of my brother's death?"  
  
Evie hadn't expected this bluntness, and stopped Rick from saying anything. "While I suppose you could say it was my husband's fault, I'd blame my brother Jonathon. So. . uh, yes, we'll go now. Bye, honey-we'll pick you up in a few hours!" The couple rushed to the car, leaving Alex with the hardened warrior, who sneered at the teen as his parents drove away.  
  
"All right, you smart aleck," he growled. Alex cut in.  
  
"It's Alex," he corrected, "not aleck. And how can you know how smart alecky I am when you haven't even been asked 'are we there yet?' fifty times?"  
  
"Yeah, well, I've heard of you. You and that murderous family of yours. Gallivanting across the globe, raising undead crud and killing innocent people, then selling the movie rights."  
  
"We haven't done that!" protested Alex. Wilbert glared. ". . . yet."  
  
"Sure, kid, whatever you say. Get in the plane." He gestured towards a none- too-sturdy looking plane.  
  
"Now?" inquired Alex. "I haven't even had any training yet!"  
  
A smirk spread across the old man's face. "Training, shmaining," he scoffed. "You learn by doing." 


	4. Discovery

Now we're leaving poor Alex for another chapter and going back to Alexandria. Also: the end of the chapter sounds like that's where the story ends, but it's not. Now on with the chapter already!  
  
CHAPTER FOUR: Discovery  
  
Alexandria shivered whilst sitting down on the bench at the empty bus stop. It wasn't even cold outside - it was, after all, Egypt - but she was scared, and being scared always meant shivering to her. She had never seen the rest of the world, and she didn't know of these strange racing metal things, or people who rushed and pushed and cursed. The globe seemed to be a very scary and unpredictable place.  
  
She could see the bus approaching fast, the bus that would take her to Cairo and from there - she didn't know what she would do. The teen was tired, annoyed, and frightened, so a safe place to stay the night would be welcome. After that, she would just go wherever her feet took her. The pulses in her head were growing more and more frequent, urgent, and near. Whoever it was that was calling her, she knew it was drawing in. Slowly, but surely.  
  
The bus was pulling up. As the doors whooshed open, Alexandria grabbed her few belongings and climbed on. She chose a seat in the back, directly across from a boy about her height whose face and the majority of his body were obscured by bandages. He was next to an old man who also sustained injuries, but was a bit more descript.  
  
"I told you not to pull that lever!" growled the old man as Alexandria took a seat.  
  
"I swear, Wilbert, it was an accident!" argued the boy. Alexandria's blood chilled. His voice was . . . so familiar. It was the voice in her head that she had been hearing all this time. Was this the boy in the picture?  
  
"Yeah, well . . . Thanks to you, we now have to go back to Cairo and wait for your parents to come. We have no other means of getting back to England." He pulled his hat down over his eyes and started snoring.  
  
Alexandria couldn't stand it any longer. She whipped around . . . at the very same time that the boy did.  
  
They gazed into each other's deep green-hazel eyes, frightened. There was no doubt about it - they were exact look-alikes. This was confirmed when the boy pulled off a bandage wrapped around his head and revealed a very bruised, bloody replica of Alexandria's head. The boy from the photograph gazed for a few more seconds before swearing.  
  
"I beg your pardon?" gasped Alexandria. "Why the underworld are you cursing at me?"  
  
"In case you haven't noticed, you look exactly like me," replied the boy. "I've seen enough freaky things in my life, but this is no doubt the most unnerving. You wouldn't happen to be another annoying reincarnation, maybe? How about one of that mean lady's cronies? Meela or whatever her name was?"  
  
"Meela? You know Meela?"  
  
"Do I ever! She killed my mother!"  
  
There was silence for a second. "I'm sorry," said Alexandria quietly. "She's my mother."  
  
"What . . . how could this . . ." He flopped back in his seat. "All right, let's examine this. You look exactly like me, but Meela is your mother."  
  
Alexandria shook her head. "Not my biological mother. I'm adopted."  
  
"That explains it. But how . . ." He massaged his forehead. "My parents never said anything about a twin, and they usually tell me everything. They wouldn't have given one of us up for adoption willingly. Of course, they do have enemies. And if your mother is Meela . . . Has she ever showed you your adoption papers?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Aha! I bet Meela kidnapped you. I remember Mother saying something years ago about how she was anesthetized at my - I mean, our birth - so it could have been that Meela snuck in . . . but she would need to have been allied with the doctors present . . . so I don't know; there are many possibilities."  
  
The bus grinded to a halt, waking the old man and startling the twins out of their conversation.  
  
"Er?" the former grunted. He noticed Alexandria and groaned. "More passengers along for the adventure, eh?"  
  
The boy nodded. His friend mumbled and stood up. The twins followed him out of the bus. As they headed into downtown Cairo, the boy turned to Alexandria.  
  
"So, uh, twin," he said. "What's your name, then? I'm Alex O'Connell."  
  
"Alexandria," she replied.  
  
He stuck his injured hand out, and she shook it. "Welcome, Alexandria. Welcome to the O'Connell family." 


	5. Realizations

I'm sorry it took me so long to get this up, but I've been busy messing around with HTML on my blog/writing a musical about in-school suspension. I'm not kidding.  
  
CHAPTER FIVE: Realizations  
  
Evie frantically paced around the room, shouting into the phone. "Where IS he?" she yelled. "Where is my son?! He was supposed to be back HOURS ago! Where has that madman flown that plane? Why were they flying in the first place? It was just supposed to be an introductory lesson!" She waited as the person on the other end made excuses. "I don't CARE if my brother killed his brother! Well yes, I do care, but that's not applicable now! My son didn't have anything to do with it!"  
  
Rick gently pried the phone away from her and spoke into it. "Listen, whoever you are, I'm sorry if my wife's scaring you, but we want to know where our son is!" He paused for a second to listen. "That's not even funny. 'It's not like undead mummies carried him off'? Well listen up, pal, that happens sometimes! So don't joke about it!" He listened. "Fine, my brother-in-law will be home if you get any news. I'm not going to sit here and twiddle my thumbs - I'm going to find my son." He slammed the phone down and sat in a chair, his head in his hands.  
  
Evie came and put her arm around him, burying her face in his shoulder. "Don't blame yourself, Rick. We couldn't have foreseen this. Although, I was the one who saw the potential danger - but that doesn't matter now."  
  
Her husband lifted his head up. "We've got to find him. We have before. But, Evie, honey - it's too convenient. After all these years, we meet up with the very guy whose brother was killed helping us, and he has the very thing Alex wanted for some reason - a plane. There's something or someone Alex was looking for. Haven't you noticed how he's grown distant over these past few weeks? And he's grown more curious about his past. How we met, Imhotep - all these things he's known but never been really interested in."  
  
"I've noticed it too," murmured Evie, "but I have no idea what it could be. You know we've barely ever kept secrets from him. We told him a short, fluffed-up version of our first adventure when he was, how old, five? And Jonathon's told him everything he needed to know and then some. It's not like he has a long-lost twin, or something."  
  
"Or something," agreed Rick. "Although it's not like we were present at the birth. You were asleep, and I was -"  
  
He stopped mid-sentence, leaped up, and ran his fingers through his hair. "Evie, do you remember anything about the birth?"  
  
"Vaguely," she commented. "I received the anesthesia, fell asleep, and woke up. Then you said, 'It's a boy!' But I kind of nodded in and out before hand, and I can remember a bunch of voices, and -" She looked at Rick. "I don't know, it felt like, like - like it could have been more than one."  
  
Rick stared at the family portrait on his desk. Beside the smiling blond boy sitting at his parents' feet, there was an empty space. A space that belonged to someone. A space that needed to be filled. 


End file.
